Scraper



H. c. 'FRENTZEL, JR... ET AL 2,284,412

SCRAPER May 26, 1942.

Filed March 25, 1958' 2 Sheets-Shet 1 v ATTORNEYS May 26, 1942. H.'C.-FRENTZEL; JR, ETAL 2,284,412

SCRAPER I Filed March 25, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 '66 ".i 4 BY TEEZWEFE;

Patented May 26, 1942 s PATENT OFFICE.

SCRAPER Herman C. Frentzel,

Milwaukee, Wis., ass

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements Jr., and Henry 0. French,

ignor to The Hell 00., Milwaukee, Wis, a corporation cl WisconsinApplication March 25, 1938, Serial No. 198,025

in the construction and operation of scrapers of the type which arecapable of both leveling ground and transporting excess earth from placeto place, and this application is a continuation in part of our priorapplication Serial No. 150,232, filed June 25, 1937, and since issued asPat. No. 2,169,- 946.

Generally defined, an object of our present invention is the provisionof an improved grading andload transporting scraper assemblage, which issimple and durable in construction as well as being highly efficient inoperation.

One of the more specific objects of this invention is to provide animproved dig and carry scraper'assemblage having a wide range of usewith minimum power consumption for predetermined capacity. I

Another important specific object of our invention is the provision of anew and useful power actuated dirt mover, wherein the various movableparts and especially the load confining bowl, are operable with the aidof simplifled and efiective hydraulic jack mechanisms operable withminimum pressure.

A further specific object of the present invention is to provideimproved mechanism for enabling smooth operation of the loading andunloading rig of a power scraper, with minimum effort and maximum speed,so that least time is required for normaloperation of the equipment.

Still another specific object of our present invention is the provisionof improved and automatically functioning means for assisting the loadelevating mechanism of a scraper in its action, and for cushioning thecutting blade in its downward movement.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following detailed description, and some of the novelfeatures of scraper construction, which are shown but not specificallyclaimed herein, form the subject of our copending applicationhereinabove identified.

A clear conception of an embodiment of our present invention, and of themode of constructing and of operating scraper mechanism built inaccordance with the improvement, may be had by referring to the drawingsaccompanying and forming a part of this specification wherein likereference characters designate the same or similar parts in. the variousviews.

Fig. l is a longitudinal vertical section through the cutter blade andbowl lowered into the cut, and the front apron elevated;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the scraper with the blade and bowl elevatedand the rear apron in the act of discharging a load from the bowl;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged rear perspective view of the improved scraper;

Fig. 4 is a further enlarged side elevation, partly in section, of thespring and easing assemblage on one side of the blade and bowl actuatingjack;

Fig. 5 is a similarly enlarged part sectional rear view of the entirebowl lifting jack and power spring assembly; and

Fig. 6 is a bottom View of the lower portion of the jack and springassembly alone.

Although our invention has been illustrated herein as being specificallyapplied to a hydraulically operated scraper assemblage capable of bothleveling the ground and carrying loads of earth, and adapted to be drawnby a traction vehicle, it is not our intent to thereby unnecessarilyrestrict the scope, since some of the features may be more generallyapplicable to other types of scrapers.

Referring to the drawings, our improved dig and carry scraper asillustrated, comprises in general a main front frame 8 which ispivotally supported at its lower front portion upon a wheeled draftcarriage 9 and has rearwardly extending laterally spaced side arms itrigidly interconnected at their front and rear ends by transverse upperbeams M, 2 respectively; an open ended load carrying bowl havingparallel side walls l3 rigidly suspended from the side arms In and rearbeam 12 and a flat bottom '14 rigidly. connecting the lower extremitiesof the side walls I3; a cutting'blade l5 firmly attached to thefrontportion of thebowl bottom It; a front apron l6 pivotally suspendedfrom the side walls l3 and being swingable toward and away from thescraper blade l5 between the walls 43 by means of a hydraulic jack Hwhich is pivotally suspended from the front beam H; arear apron i8movable within the bowl between the side walls It and over the bottom itand having rearwardly projecting integral actuating arms 19; rearwardlyextending rigidly interconnected heavy ears or plates 29' firmlyattached to the rear beam ii of the main frame 8 and to the rear of thebowl; actuating levers 2! for the rear apron l8, pivotally suspendedfrom the plates 20 and pivotally attached to the arms I9, and beingoperable by a second hydraulic jack a typical dig and carry scraperassemblage with 22 an auxiliary rear frame 23 having its front g thecutting blade l5.

end pivotally connected to the lower rear portion of the front frameassemblage by means of a transverse piv t 24, and having its rear end'pivotally suspended from rear transporting for snug reception of thepivot pin II. The opposite ends of the pin II are notched; and lockingplates 42 which are secured to the flanges I by means of cap screws 43,engage these notches and prevent axial shiftingof the pin 2!, see Figs.4, 5 and 8. The assemblage is obviously such that when the hydraulicJack expands as in raising or elevating the load, the springs 3! willalso expand and assist the jack in its elevating movement; whereaslowering of the bowl by contraction of the Jack through gravity action,will durable unit, and this front frame structure is tiltable about apivot 30 on the front draft carriage I so as to either position the bowlbottom it within the cut as shown in Fig. 1, or to elevate the bowl awayfrom the ground as in Figs.-

2 and 3. The rear or auxiliary frame 23 which'is articulably connectedwith the main frame asscmblage by means of the transverse pivot pin 24,from which the Jack 22 is alsopivotally suspended, is likewise formed ofmetal beams and plates so as to provide a strong assemblage which isswingable about the axis of therear wheels 25 during raising andlowering of the bowl and tor for propelling the scraper assemblageoverthe ground, is ordinarily coupled tothe draft carriage I, and isprovided with-a pump'and control levers which are operable toindependently control the actuation of the Jacks ll, 2!, and of the rearjack which eflfects raising and lowering of the bowl. I

In order to reduce to a minimum the-hydraulic pressure necessary to movethe piston 28 of the third jack, downwardly within the cylinder 26 so asto raisethe bowl and its load, and also in order to cushion the downwardmovement of the bowl and blade II, we have provided a group of helicalcompression springs 3| which cooperate with this jack in the mannershown. in detail in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. As previously indicated, the jackcylinder 26 is suspended from trunnion pins 21 whlch are firmly attachedto sleevesor bushings II rigi ly secured to the plate cars of the frontframe, and the lower end of the piston 28 is pivotally connected to themedial portion of the rear frame 2'3 by meansof a heavy pin 2! which ispreferably carried by alinedbushings II rigidly attached to theauxiliaryframe 28, as in Fig. 5. A group of four tubular spring casingsor bushings 34 which are parallel to each other and arranged in sets oftwo on each side of the cylinder 2, is provided for confining theindividual springs II, and each housing 3| has an upper'cap 3' withwhich the confined spring 3i coacts, and is open at its lower end.Eachset of housings 34 is integrally united bytmeans of a plate '36having a central openingsnugly embracing an'adiacent cylinder socket 81and confined thereon by means of av'washer ll embracing thecorresponding runnion pins 21 and coactlng with the inner end of theadjacent The draft vehicle' or tracthe bottom it bushing 32, so that thehousings-'Sl'are'in fact 4 secured to the cylinder 26 but may tiltslightly relative thereto. While the upper 'ends'of-the.

springs 3| react against the closure caps 38, the lower spring endscoact with brackets 89 having rigid upwardly projecting tubular guideslil embraced by the springs II and extending. into the casings orhousings 34, and also having depending integral flanges ll provided withalined holes compress the springs SI and will store energy therein whileat the same time cushioning the downward motion of the bowl. Fluid suchas oil may be admitted to and from the cylinder 2' of the rear hoistthrough piping 44 to raise the piston II and to permit lowering thereof,in a well known manner.

During normal operation of our improved scraper, the draft carriage l isconnected to a suitable traction vehicle such as a tractor, and thecirculating pump on the tractor may be placed in operation bythe'driver. The hydraulic Jacks may then be operated independently 'ofeach other to either actuate the front and rear aprons i8, It, or toelevate or lower scraper blade is. When the scraper elements arepositioned as shown in Fig. l, and the assemblage is being drawn alongthe ground, the bowl is being loaded with dirt which piles up on andagainst the rear apron ll between the walls It, as it enters the bowlover the scraper blade II. with the blade II thus in cutting position,the bowl bottom I is disposed approximately horizontal, and the piston"is in the upper portion of the cylinder 26 while the springs ii arecompressed as illustrated in Figs. 1, 4 and 5. The front apron ii iselevated so as to permit unobstructed entry of the dirt into the bowl,and the rear apron II is moved rearwardly within the bowl beam i2.

After the bowl has been suiliciently loaded, the front apron it may belowered by operating the front Jack il until this apron coacts with theblade II, thereby positively confining the load within the bowl. Theloaded bowl may thereafter be elevated by admitting fluid under pressureto the cylinder 2l above the piston 2|, and thus expanding the rearhydraulic Jack to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. During thisexpansion of the rear bowl actuating jack, the springs Ii which havebeen previously compressed and energized during lowering of the bowl,will also expand and will thereby materially assist the Jack inrelatively swinging the front and rear frames I, 23 about the pivot pin24. This bowl elevating action exerted by the springs 3| will obviouslyconsiderably reduce the fluid pressure required in the cylinder 28 whenlifting orelevating relatively heavy loads, especially in starting suchloads on their upward Journey aniwhen'the blade II is still embedded inthe on When the bowl has been thus elevated, the scraper may be freelytransported over the ground, and if it becomes desirable to subsequentlydump the load, thefront apron I may be elevated by operation of thefront Jack I! and'the rear apron ll may be moved forwardly by operationof the second or intermediate iack 22, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

bowl over the blade i5, and the latter during its advancement over theground will eifectively the main bowl and.

and engages the upper I The forwardly advancing rear apron 18 will thenforce the load out of the spread the dirt and level the same. After thebowl has been emptied, the jack\22 may again be manipulated to returnthe apron 18 to the rear of the bowl, and the front apron It may beretained in open position. Upon subsequent release of the fluid pressurewithin the cylinder 26 of the rear jack, the weight of the bowl and ofthe other elements associated with the rear portion I of the main frame8, causes the frames 8, 23 to swing downwardly at the pivot pin 24 andabout their pivotal axes, thereby returning the bowl and the blade IE tothe position shown in Fig. 1 and again compressing the springs 3| tostore up potential energy. It will thus be noted, that these springs 3|not only assist in elevating the bowl and load, but also function tocushion the downward movement of the relatively heavy scraper parts.

From the foregoing detailed description of the construction andoperation of a dig and carry scraper, it will be apparent that ourpresent invention provides a simple, compact and durable assemblagewherein the load carrying bowl is quickly and effectively operablewithininimum power. The improved power and cushioning spring assemblagebesides most effectively performing its function by virtue of thelocation thereof at the extreme end of the main frame 8 and relativelynear the'bowl, is also well protected against possible damage due toimpact with objects in the path of travel of the scraper. The provisionof a group of these springs carried by and located closely adjacent tothe rear jack, most effectively distributes the spring pressures andprovides a compact spring assemblage. The invention has moreover provenhighly successful in actual commercial operation, and has made itpossible to load and unload with maximum speed and minimum effort. 7

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this inventionto the exact details of construction and to the precise mode ofoperation of scrapers such as specifically shown and described herein,for various modifications within the scope of the claims may occur topersons skilled in'the art.

We claim:

1. In a scraper, articulably connected front and rear framestransportably supported upon front and rear wheels, a load receivingbowl suspended from the rear portion of said front frame, a hydraulicjack having a cylinder suspended from said front frame in back of saidbowl and having a plunger movable in said cylinder and connected to themedial portion of said rear frame, housings carried by said cylinder,brackets carried by said plunger, and springs within said housings andcoactlng with said brackets and said housings.

2. In a scraper, articulably connected front and rear framestransportably supported upon front and rear wheels, a load receivingbowl suspended from the rear portion of said front frame, a hydraulicjack having a cylinder suspended from said front frame in back of saidbowl and having a plunger movable in said cylinder and connected to saidrear frame, a housing carried by said cylinder, a bracket carried bysaid plunger, and a spring within said housing and coacting with saidbracket and said housing.

3. In a scraper, pivotally interconnected front and rear frames mountedfor transportation along the ground, a scraper blade suspended from oneof said frames, a hydraulic jack having a cylinder connected to one ofsaid frames and having a plunger movable in said cylinder and connectedto the other frame, a housing carried by said cylinder, a bracketcarried by said plunger, and a spring within said housing and coactingwith said bracket and said housing.

4. In a scraper, pivotally interconnected front and rear frames mountedfor transportation along the ground, a scraper blade suspended from oneof said frames, a hydraulic jack having a cylinder suspended from one ofsaid frames and having a plunger movable in said cylinder and connectedto the other frame, a housing carried by said cylinder, a bracketcarried by said plunger, and a spring within said housing and coactingwith said bracket and said housing.

5. In a scraper, pivotally interconnected front and rear frames mountedfor transportation along the ground, a scraper blade suspended from oneof said frames, a hydraulic jack having a cylinder connected to one ofsaid frames and having a plunger movable in said cylinder and connectedto the other frame, a pair of housings connected to each side of saidcylinder, a pivot pin carried by andextending transversely of saidplunger, a bracket carried on each end of said pivot pin, and a springwithin each of said housings, one pair of said springs coacting witheach bracket.

6. In a scraper, relatively movable front and rear frames mounted fortransportation along the ground, a scraper blade suspended from one ofsaid'frames, a hydraulic jack including a cylinder interposed betweensaid frames for relatively moving the same to raise said blade, 2.housing connected to said cylinder, and a spring having a part receivedin and coacting with said housing cooperating with said jack to assistthe same in elevating said blade and to cushion the lowering movementthereof.

HERMAN C. FRENTZEL, JR. HENRY C. FRENCH.

